The prior art of cryopumping (cryogenic pumping) is adequately set out in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,549, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference. The '549 patent discloses one type of panel which is ideally suited for the coldest end of an elongated refrigerator to pump, among other things, hydrogen, argon and air. U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,588 discloses a method for improving the cryopumping apparatus of the '549 patent while U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,951 discloses a low profile cryopumping apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,430 is representative of a number of cryopumps with panels of varying configuration on the cold end of the cryogenic refrigerator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,338 discloses and claims a cryopanel array of the type which is cumbersome and difficult to fabricate and not overly thermally efficient, of which the present invention is a vast improvement.